FoxSports.com: Tigers "punchless," need help

John Paul Morosi knows the Detroit Tigers really well. The former Detroit Free Press Tigers' beat writer and current FoxSports.com columnist has seen the Tigers up close, and despite the team's two game lead in the AL Central, he isn't impressed with what he's seen lately. Calling the Tigers "punchless," Morosi writes the Tigers have a lot of work to do if they are to make the post-season.

August 5, FoxSports.com: For those who haven't been watching, this has been their season in brief: The pitching has been strong, despite Jarrod Washburn's disappointing Detroit debut in an 8-2 loss to Baltimore on Tuesday. The defense, particularly around the infield, has improved since last year. But the offense has been mystifying, with outputs of three runs or fewer in 10 of 18 games since the All-Star break.

In the end, the Tigers have done just enough to maintain a precarious hold on first place.

On some level, it's remarkable that the Tigers are fielding a contender this year at all. With a projected decrease in revenues due to the recession, it would have been easy for owner Mike Ilitch to order a dramatic reduction in the team's payroll. He didn't.

So, these are the 2009 Tigers. On their best days, you wonder how Verlander, Washburn and Edwin Jackson would look starting the first three games of a postseason series. On their worst, you start counting all the money owed this year to injured/aching players ... and lose interest at around $40 million.